The Love Between Them
by storyweaver24
Summary: Jily and Co, at the end of seventh year. A series of one-shots in no particular chronological order (yet). Reviews are welcomed greatly!
1. Fingers, Toes, Arms, Feet

**A/N: I do not own the characters. They belong to JKR. Inspired by "Home", by Phillip Phillips and a tumblr post by themockingjay-wholived.**

* * *

_Settle down, it'll all be clear_  
_Don't pay no mind to the demons_  
_They fill you with fear_  
_The trouble it might drag you down_  
_If you get lost, you can always be found_  
_Just know you're not alone_  
_Cause I'm going to make this place your home_  
_- Home (Phillip Phillips)_

* * *

It was the middle of May and she was shaking. She wasn't sure if it was from the cold or from the fear, but she sat in the window seat in the corner and tried to hold herself together.

A blanket dropped into her lap and she watched him sit across from her. "Hey." He said, voice quiet and unassuming. "You okay?"

She nodded. He snorted. "You look like you're in an earthquake. You're not okay." He said, a tiny little smile on his lips. She pulled a face and turned back towards the window with her head on her knees.

"What's wrong?" She didn't answer, just pretended like he wasn't there and hugged her legs to stop the tremors. "Hey. Talk to me."

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and shook her head. He sighed, and wrapped his fingers around her ankles. With a small tug, her feet were in his lap and she was looking at him.

"Why are your feet so cold? It's springtime." He wondered idly, rubbing her toes through her socks. She smiled gratefully and pulled her sleeves over her hands. She felt the shaking lessen.

"I get chilly sometimes." She offered, speaking through her fingers.  
"I noticed." He said, adjusting the blanket so it covered his legs too. "Why are you cold on this particular day? There's not a chilly wind in sight."

She was silent, not willing to admit why. He knew her better than that, though, and watched her with his eyebrow raised until she finally spoke.

"I just… everything is changing. Everything is ending and I'm lost."

"Not everything's ending. I'm still here." At this she looked away.

"For how long?"

"Forever."

"You don't know that. I can't… I just can't." She leaned her head against the window, aghast at the tears prickling at her eyes. She didn't want to cry today.

"Talk to me." He repeated simply, and she knew that she couldn't hold her tongue.

"I can't be safe. I'll never be safe with this happening. And everyone around me isn't safe. Not even you."

"I don't care."

"You should. You're protected, with your family and everything. I'm nobody, I'm nothing. So why are you still here?" Two tears slipped down her face and she refused to meet his gaze.

"That's what you're worried about?" He said, his voice filled with surprise. "That I'll leave you because you think you're dangerous?" He caught her hand and brought it to his lips. "I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me. And whoever is saying that you're nobody is wrong, as wrong as anyone could ever be."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I know you. It's impossible for someone like you to be nobody."  
"That's not what they say."  
"Show me these people. I want to have words with them." He said as she reclaimed her hand and wrapped it in her sleeve. "Honestly, you let them win when you give into these worries. You're stronger than that."

Another two tears dripped off her nose and she wiped them away angrily. "That doesn't change the fact that everything will be different after this." She said, returning to their earlier conversation.

"It will all be for the better, you'll see." He said soothingly and he tipped her chin up so he could see her. "I promise."

"I don't know where I'm going to go." She gave him a sort-of half smile and glanced away.

"You could come with me." He whispered, his face only a couple of inches away.

"What do you mean?" He didn't answer, but brought his mouth to hers. She wrapped her arms up around his neck and he had his hands on her back. And they were lost in each other.

Breaking apart, breathless, she curled up in his arms. He was warm and comforting and _safe_. She loved being there, next to his heart. He rested his chin on her head and tightened his grip on her.

"I mean, marry me." He murmured and she went still.

"What?"  
"Marry me." She pulled away so she could look him in the face. He was serene and happy, not a trace of a joke in his eyes. "When we get out of here, marry me."  
She started to laugh. Not because it was funny, but because it was so unexpected. "But what about the danger and—"

"Do you think I care?" He asked. She shook her head, but smiled.

"You're crazy."  
"Maybe." He allowed, the smirk back on his face. In one sudden, fluid motion, he jumped to his feet and held his hand out to her.

"What are you doing now?"

"Dance with me."

"Well, aren't you full of demands today." She said, but swung her legs over the edge and grabbed his hands. Stars flew in front of her eyes as he lead her in a dance. She was laughing and he was laughing and they were so close and they were alone.

"You're crazy." She told him again as he twirled her around.

"And you're too talkative. Shut up and dance, already." He said as he recaptured her. She rolled her eyes. They moved together like that for a while, practically shining.

"Yes."

"What?"

"Yes, I'll marry you." He stopped his steps and glanced down at her. She was grinning, joy in her eyes. He returned the grin and laughed, bending down to kiss her again.

There was trouble brewing outside, and the world was at war. But here, in this moment, everything was perfect. She laid her head on his chest and sighed, content, it would seem, forever. She was home when she was with him.

"I love you, James Potter."  
"I love you too, Lily. I always will."


	2. The Photograph

**A/N: All rights to JKR. **

* * *

_Baby, what I mean  
Is that I love you more than any I've seen.  
If you can't tell I'm quite keen on it  
Like a rhyme loves a sonnet,  
Like a movie loves a screen  
That's what I want to mean to you.  
-Movie Loves a Screen (April Smith and the Great Picture Show)_

* * *

There is a photograph of the two of them, taken in their last year. It's a little blurry, and a lot sweet and it's their favorite picture.

_James entwined Lily's fingers with his own as they walked. She smiled and swung their joined hands. He laughed at her. _

"_You're such a child sometimes." He teased, glancing at her from the corners of his eyes. _

"_You're really one to talk, O mighty master of mischief and maraudery." _

"_Clever." _

"_I thought so." She fought to keep a smile locked away._

"_But I don't think 'maraudery' is a word." Said he, brow furrowed and eyes glittering. Lily scoffed and brushed the hair out of her eyes. _

"_Of course it's a word. I say it's a word." _

"_You'd be wrong." _

"_I am never wrong, Mister Potter." _

"_Arrogance killed the cat, Miss Evans." Lily giggled and James turned toward her with a question on his face. _

"_Curiosity. Curiosity killed the cat, not arrogance." _

"_You and your Muggle phrases. Can't you just accept the way I speak without correcting it? What kind of girlfriend are you?" _

"_Oh, you poor thing." She drawled "How will your pride survive?"_

"_A kiss might make me feel better." He said, tapping his mouth with a grin. She rolled her eyes and reached up to peck his cheek, laughing at his affronted expression. He turned her so they were facing each other. "Oi, Evans! That could hardly be called a kiss." _

James rests his forehead on Lily's and they are so close to kissing—a little push is all they would need. But they're not, they're just looking at each other and laughing and delighting in each other. The love between them is so tangible, you can feel it even through the lens of the camera.

"_Would you like a proper one?" She says, and he kisses the end of her nose. _

"_Probably. But you're quite beautiful from this angle. I don't want to ruin it just yet." He comments softly, his brown eyes locked with her green ones. _

"_You're a pretty boy yourself." She replies. "I like this view." _

Lily has one hand on James' shoulder, the other mussing up his hair. He has both arms around her waist, holding her close to him. If you're lucky, you can see James bring one finger up to stroke her nose. If you watch, you can see Lily bring a hand up to cradle his cheek.

"_You never did like it when my hair stood up." Comments he, smiling wryly. She rolls her eyes and sighs slightly. _

"_Don't make me hex you, Potter." She tries to make her voice threatening, but it doesn't work. He laughs a tiny bit. "I will, you know I will!" _

"_Don't, don't, don't." He shushes her, loving the way her hand feels on her cheek. "Don't spoil the moment for me with threats." _

_When he looks at her like that, with all that love, she is overwhelmed. "Okay." She says, loving the way his hands feel on her waist, like they're meant to be there. _

The autumn trees all around are blooming and the Lake is quiet and glassy. They are the only two in the picture. Fitting, since they were the only two in each other's lives. Lily seems to know this, it's set in the way she angles herself. James seems to understand this, he is completely caught up in her.

"_Unless those threats include snogging." He will amend, grinning at her mildly disapproved look. She won't be able hold the façade very long and she'll beam. He has that effect on her._

"_You would like that, wouldn't you?" _

"_To snog you? Very much." _

"_Then what's stopping you?" She'll wonder aloud, her heart racing and her cheeks a little flushed. _

"_Only the fact that your mouth was in use." And he will bend down and kiss her. _

It's sad, really, the ashes of this picture buried in a ruined house. The promises and the emotions and the personalities, gone from here forever. Even the imprints of the souls, as pictures are fancied to be, were burned from this life.

_She'll break away and her lips will already be a little swollen. "I should go study." She'll say, a little out of breath. He'll catch her arm and tug her back. _

"_You're not getting away that easy." He'll warn her and sling his arm around her shoulders. "I've got to protect you."_

"_I can handle myself, thank you very much."_

"_That might be true. But then, who will protect me?"_

_She'll glare at him with eyebrows raised. "You do have a wand, James. And you do go to a magic school. It's safe to say you can protect yourself. But I'll do the honors if we come across any scary-wary Sytherins." _

"_Then allow me the honor of escorting you back to the Common Room." He'll say and he'll bow extravagantly. She'll laugh at his antics, but walk with him and enjoy the company as she goes. _

"_You're not such a bad girlfriend, you know." He'll smile, arriving at their destination. She'll duck under his arm and give him a wink and a kiss in gratitude. _

"_I know. You're not so bad yourself." And she'll skip up to her room. He'll collapse on a chair, chuckling and wishing she stayed down with him. But there was always later._

**A/N: I know that I switched verb tenses thrice, and that was on purpose. In case it was unclear, past is before the picture is taken, present is during and future is... the future. I think I pulled it off. Not sure, though. **


	3. Saturday Morning (Names)

**A/N: This chapter's a little different from the rest, because it's before they're dating and it's a little less romantic. Enjoy!**

* * *

_She sewed shut the curtain  
__She closed out the light coming in  
__And all her friends she don't want near  
__She don't want advice, advice to hear  
__'Cause inside she's working  
__She's mending what's broken  
__'Cause her love ain't easy  
__It changes with seasons  
__-Change of Seasons (Sweet Thing)_

* * *

Lily leaned over the back of the sofa and smiled at him. He cracked one eye open and grunted.

"Go away, Evans."

"Not gonna." She replied, coming round the corner and tapping his legs. He begrudgingly moved them so she could sit. Once she was comfortable, he plopped his feet back down, not caring if they ended up in her lap. "You look chipper this morning."

"It's seven on a Saturday. No one should be happy. Everyone should be asleep."

"Why are you awake, then?"

He groaned again, accepting that he wasn't going to be getting any more sleep. Prying his eyes open, he pushed himself up into a sitting position and scowled.

"Because the snores of the three boys in my dormitory is enough to wake the bloody dead." He declared, flinging an arm over his face. Lily raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Remus snores?"

"Did you not hear me? Everybody snores, and Remus especially." She giggled. "It's no laughing matter, Evans. It's a serious problem. I am losing my precious sleep over it."

"You know, you _can_ call me Lily." He removed his forearm from his eyes and gazed at her. She flushed a little bit, just at the roots of her hair, but met his look. "It's what most people call me. Hardly anyone refers to me by my last name."

"I am not most people, Evans."

"I'm aware of that, _Potter_. I'm just saying…"

"You're insulting me, is what you're doing. Honestly, comparing me to the uneducated masses. It's a travesty."

"Did you just use the word 'travesty'?"

"Irrelevant. I call you Evans because I can and because it would be weird to call you Lily after all these years. I could call you Teakettle, but that doesn't have the same ring to it."

"Teakettle? Are you serious?"

"I'm James, actually. Sirius is upstairs snoring." He said grinning at her sour face. She grabbed a pillow and threw it at him.

"That joke got old the second time you used it. The second time!"

"It never gets old."

"James," she started, shaking her head.

He had a deceptively innocent look on his face. "What?"

"You're incorrigible."

"So I've been told." He said quietly, losing himself in a train of thought. He had been told many times that he was incorrigible by the redhead sitting at the bottom of the couch. From first year, when she was trying to impress everyone by throwing big words around, to fourth year, when he tried to recolour her hair for the third time, and then just now. Arrogance, hatred, teasing. How things had changed in seven years.

A shiver ran down the bottom of his foot and his spine answered in kind. He jerked and glanced at Lily. She was wide-eyed, with the beginnings of a grin shining through.

"Are you ticklish?" She asked in a low, disbelieving tone. Mirth danced on her face and James watched her warily.

"No." He said slowly. She pinched the bottom of his foot and he lurched in response.

"You are ticklish!" She insisted, and before he could protest, she reached over and dug her fingers into his ribs.

"Stop it!" He cried, wriggling and wiggling to get away from her. "I'm not ticklish." The rest of what he was going to say was swallowed by a burst of laughter. She was laughing too, almost as hard as he was, and James briefly registered the amazing fact that she was voluntarily touching him, in close contact with him.

_Thunk._ With a sudden spasm, he had accidentally gone too far and rolled off the edge of the couch, landing painfully on his arse. Lily peered at him from up on the couch, her hand pressed to her mouth and chuckles straining to break through.

"Are you okay?" She managed to choke out. He was glad that he wasn't wearing his glasses, or they would have been broken.

"Yeah. My dignity was left somewhere between the couch and the floor, but I'll be alright." He said mildly. His feet were still in Lily's lap and his body was awkwardly twisted until it met the floor.

Flailing a bit, he reached for her proffered hand and pulled himself up. "Ouch." Announced he, first rubbing his elbow, then his shoulder and finally his head. "Dignity definitely completely gone. My pride is dented, too."

"Poor widdle boy." She said, pouting like a child. James swallowed—her lips were so delightfully pink and he could've kissed her right there.

"Hey, I'm not _that_ much younger than you." He answered, hoping his voice didn't shake or, heaven forbid, give anything away.

"Did the widdle Jamsie fall?" She teased, blinking up at him. He narrowed his eyes and pulled a face.

"Please, don't. Anything but Jamsie. Anything."

"Even Toerag?"

"Even that. Jamsie is what my mum calls me when she's being all sentimental. Jamsie is what the boys call me when they're being infuriating. Jamsie is what my great-aunt Henrietta calls me as she pinches my cheek."

"I didn't know you were so eloquent in the mornings, Toerag." She said after a moment's pause and a quirky smile on her lips.

"Well, you bring about the best in me, Evans." He told her, wondering absentmindedly where his glasses were. The next sentence slipped out without him wanting them to, without his permission. "Besides, only you call me that. My dented pride can suffer through Toerag."

She went still quite suddenly, and James realized he was still stretched out on the couch. He pulled his long legs to his chest and crossed them, watching the girl. She was chewing her lip and tugging at a piece of hair that had slipped down.

"Apparently, I'm extraordinarily stupid in the mornings too." He muttered under his breath, wishing that he could take his too-revealing and too-hasty words back. "I'm sorry, Evans. I'll keep my big mouth shut."

She sat for a moment more, not meeting his eyes, before slowly speaking. "You don't have to apologize for what's on your mind." Each sound was carefully formed, carefully measured, carefully kept devoid of too much emotion. "But…"

"What? Talk to me, Evans."

"I just w-wish that you wouldn't—"

"That I wouldn't think like that. I get it." He said, working very hard to keep the anger and frustration out of his voice. She glanced at him nervously and he wondered where the lighthearted banter of five minutes ago had gone. He sat on one side of the couch and she on the other, their toes close but never touching.

And finally, he couldn't take the weighted silence anymore. "You never did tell me why you were awake this early."

"I didn't?" She said, a little vaguely, and he shook his head. "I wake up early sometimes. And today just happened to be one of those days."

The clock on the mantle chimed eight o'clock.

"Look at that, Evans. We've gone a whole hour without strangling each other. Well, not including that tickling fit. I think that's history, that is."

"Hyperbole much?"

"I don't know what that is." James said, frowning at her. "And it's still much too early to be using words that complicated."

"Says the boy who gave an speech."

"You can shut it."

"Not gonna." She said, grinning at him and poking him with her foot. He poked her back, and they were laughing again, easy and natural and _heartbreaking._

His feet ended up in her lap again, and she was giggling like mad. Her face was all red now, and he was sure his was too. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and caught her doing the same. She quickly averted her eyes to the arm of the sofa. Her fingers absentmindedly drummed his leg, tapping out a nervous pattern to a song inside her head. It was warm in the Common Room, the cushions were soft and he felt his eyelids closing—closing—closing.

"James?"

"Mm?"

"Can you let me up, please?" He blinked himself back to reality and stared at her for a second. "Legs. Off. Can't get up." She repeated, tapping his ankle harder.

"Sure." He mumbled, and pushed himself up to a sitting position. Lily smiled in thanks and got to her feet.

She held out her hand. "Here. I hear someone coming, let's get you back to your bed." She said, tugging on his wrist. He obediently stood up and allowed her to lead him up the stairs to the seventh year boys' dormitory.

"Lily?" He asked, stopping right before the door and shrugging off his grogginess. She turned to look at him, her eyebrows raised. He swallowed and fidgeted nervously with the end of his shirt. "I was wondering, do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?" Her features softened for a moment, and James was flying. Maybe she would say yes.

But his hopes were dashed with a sad smile and small shake of the head. "N-no. I can't, James. I'm sorry. I can't."

"Why not?" He demanded, a little harsher than he expected. She cringed and took a step back. He followed, preferring that the space between them was as close as possible. She gave no answer, but apologized again and whirled around. He watched her run down the stairs to the Girl's Dorm and resisted the urge to slam his hand into the door. He opened instead and staggered in, falling onto his bed with a groan.

"Wha' s'matter?" Sirius slurred, half raising his head.

"Nothing." He muttered as he buried his face In his pillow and tried to recapture sleep. His heart pounded in his chest, blood rushed in his ears and he felt cold, so cold. "I hate you, Evans." He said with passion, wishing that it was true because then he didn't have to feel this _pain_.

Lily had turned him down again. And he swore it got more unbearable with every time.


	4. Cracking

A/N: Written for xxmoosemikaxx on tumblr. Also based off a drawing by viria entitled "c'mon,Evans,just one kiss.." Characters belong to JK Rowling.

* * *

_And I wonder if I ever cross your mind  
For me it happens all the time  
It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now  
And I don't know how I can do without  
I just need you now_

_-Need You Now (Lady Antebellum)_

* * *

She had broken up with him. Way back in March, it was because of some stupid fight they had, one of many. She didn't want his protection. She could take care of herself.

Looking back now, it might have been because she was scared. That his affection for her would get him hurt, that there would be too much hate from people, that she was falling too hard far too fast.

So smiles and sweet kisses were swapped for awkward encounters and stammering. And stares, always stares. Every time she saw him, her heart tried to flutter like it used to but was stopped by her ribcage and the coldness in him. It was like his bones turned to ice whenever he was around her. He straightened up, looked forward, moved smoothly like he was worried about cracking.

She guessed she wasn't any better.

It was a warming day until night arrived. It was time for patrols, the ones that she couldn't weasel out of. A strike at eight and the Heads were off, standing two feet and an ocean of silence apart. He trailed behind her slightly, not glancing her way, and kept his mouth shut.

They knew what to do. They went to the top floor and made their way down, cracking open every door and pausing to listen. They foiled a few romantic escapades and helped to dislodge a confused House-Elf from a potent janitor's closet, all without a single word spoken directly to each other.

"I'm sorry." He said finally, breaking the silence. She whipped her head around to look at him. He was examining the floor instead.

"What?" She managed to spit out before regaining her composure. "I mean, what for?"

"I don't know why you're mad at me, but I'm sorry." He replied. She stood there for a moment with her eyebrow raised. The corners of his mouth twitched and she felt relief flood her body. _Her _James was coming back to her, not the one made of ice.

"I'm not mad at you." And she meant it. She wasn't, hadn't been since the night of the argument when she stormed off in a rage. But that had changed as soon as she was alone with her thoughts.

"They why have you been avoiding me, Evans?"

"You've been avoiding me."

He tapped a finger to his chin. "Probably, yeah. But you didn't answer my question."

She sighed, knowing the truth would spill from her mouth at some point or another. She was just so _tired_ of the lies and pretenses and awkwardness. "A little anger, at first. Mostly pride, then sadness and then, well, pain." She said, dragging a hand across her face.

"All because of me? I must be talented." He interrupted, teasing and she was glad. He was thawing.

"Not really. And especially not at Quidditch. I've seen Flobberworms fly better than you." She told him. He shoved her, making her giggle and he caught her hand to keep her from drifting too far away.

"Prat."

"Git."

"And you like me because of it."

"I don't think I do, actually."

"I can prove it." He said, grinning cheekily down at her. She was happy, right then. Happy for the first time since the breakup. Everything was almost back to normal, almost back to usual after one conversation. That was his superpower, she mused, if normal people had superpowers. Hers would be messing up relationships and James' would be fixing them with a single conversation, sentence, word, look.

"How?"

"Kiss me and I'll show you." He answered and she froze. Out went all her fuzzy feelings and in came anxiety again.

"What did you just say?"

"Kiss me and I'll prove to you that you like me because I'm a so-called git." He cocked his head, grinning hugely and obviously enjoying himself. "C'mon, Evans. What could it hurt?"

_My heart._ "My reputation. My standing as Head Girl. We can't be snogging in the corridors when we're supposed to be patrolling."

His grin grew wider. "Who said anything about snogging?" He asked. _Bloody hell._ "I just said kissing."

She sighed and decided that flippancy was the best way to get out of this. "I know you, Potter, and you'll turn any kind of kissing into snogging. You're not very patient."

"I'm not." He said, taking a step towards her. She took a step back. "I'm also not very happy that this bloody breakup has lasted a month." Two more steps, two more steps. Her back was now up against the wall and he was dangerously close. "Kiss me."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Words were tumbling from her mouth now, and she could no sooner stop a waterfall. "Because, like you said, you're no longer my boyfriend—sorry. Because it's dangerous for you to be around me—don't deny it, you know it's true. Because I've driven a wedge between you and Sirius—don't deny that either, I've seen it with my own eyes. Because I care about you way too much and I can't get hurt again." She was blushing again. Of course.

"I don't care about that. I promise. These past few months have been _absolute hell_ without you, Lily. Nothing else can compare. I can't—What was the last thing you said?"

"You're fighting with Sirius?"

"After that."

She ducked her head. "Nothing."

"Lily."

"I can't get hurt. Not again. I've fallen way too fast for you, James, and it's not going to work out well. I can just feel it."

He studied her for a moment, gently. "Is this working any better for you?"

"No." She admitted.

"Well, then." A curious gleam crept into his eye and he leaned forward until they were just a whisper apart. And with the blush still on her cheeks, he pressed his lips to hers and she was lost.

One of his hands was wrapped around her waist and the other was pressed up against the wall behind her. She slipped her hands up his stomach, curling them into his shirt and determining to not let him go again. Her mouth was hot, and his was too, and they were just wrapped up in each other. Completely oblivious and completely in heaven.

With one last, sweet kiss, he straightened and ran a hand through his hair. She let out a shaky breath reached up to fix her own hair.

"So, Evans. " He said, smiling cheekily. "How about going to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?"

"Sounds like a date."

"Sounds like a date."


End file.
